Media

Combating Stigma Attached to Mental Illness

09 Oct 2017

Existing research indicates that about 13 percent of Hong Kongers suffer from mood disorders, out of which only 16 per cent say they would seek professional help. This reflects the public’s lack of knowledge about mental health, as well as the tendency of patients to avoid seeking help due to the social stigma attached to mental illness.

10 October is World Mental Health Day. To help mark the occasion, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) will hold a public seminar titled “From The Lunatics to Mad World: How the Media Portray Mental Illness”, during which award-winning director of movie “Mad World” Mr Wong Chun, Dr Chung Ka-fai (Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, HKU) and Dr Fu King-wa (Associate Professor, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, HKU) will discuss the controversial issue of media representations of mental illness.

The seminar is part of the pre-conference programme of International Conference on Recovery-oriented Services and Policy Planning in Mental Health (RSP 4.0), which will be held from 11 to 12 January 2018 at the University of Hong Kong. The timely conference brings together academics, mental health professionals, and policymakers to explore evidence-based practices and policies relevant to promoting a recovery approach in mental health. For more information, please visit http://www.socsc.hku.hk/rsp4.